monie Club at 4 E. 60 St., NYC, NY from 1934 to 1960, when he passed on. He was not an “execu-

tive chef.” But, one of my mother’s brothers and three cousins did become executive chefs. --When- ever “Chef Paul” and I do happen to get together, we tell each other so much “history” that I surely do see how he could have mixed up my dad’s impact in the pri- vate club/hotel world of NYC in those days. Living at the Club, for each of us, meant having many fascinating encounters. My dad had an enormous circle of great friends in what was called “the food line.” –T e recipe I include today was one given to my dad by his friend, Louis Diat, a very fa- mous Executive Chef of T e Ritz- Carlton Hotel—for 41 years— who was born in France but became as American as my dad did because they chose to stay, work, and raise their families in America. ) “Freedom” is a beau- tiful word.

“Freedom” brings to

mind how I felt happy as a child, roller skating so swiſt ly in the summer that I could feel wind on my face, moving my hair, feeling cool and wonderful. T at’s prob- ably why I adored learning how to sail, too. “Free to choose” --a

marvelous concept. T at sweeps across everything we ever do in life, doesn’t it? Certainly, racing, in every form, means to feel as if one moves as swiſt ly as the wind. –On horseback, perhaps—No wonder when very young I liked listening to the radio to hear “T e Lone Ranger” programs, but far more than that, I read every book involving horses I could fi nd. –I still think the best was “T e Black Stallion” (1941) by Walter Farley. More than “just another sur- vival story for kids” kind of book, what happens to the boy and horse on the is- land they land on, is an unusual expression of hope, certainly fear of the unknown, but true wonder, and eventu- ally, excitement, joy and love, expressed in

their remarkable

companionship. A story anyone of any age can read and treasure. And read again. Walter Lorimer Farley was born in 1915 in New York. His uncle was a professional horseman who taught him all the intricacies of horse training. A brilliant stu- dent, Farley wrote and published “T e Black Stallion” while he was an undergraduate at Columbia College at Columbia University in NY. He and his family lived in Queens, near the site of the 1939 World’s Fair. In those days, ac- tive farms with cows, horses and truck farming were nearby.–And they were not far from the fa- mous Belmont Race Track. What a resourceful way to learn the thrill of horse racing. Farley pro- vided many follow-up books. A superb fi lm was released in 1979. T e extremely moving scenes of the boy and horse by the sea were fi lmed in Sardinia, Italy by the giſt ed cinematographer, Caleb Deschanel, fi ve time nominee for Academy Awards. A fi ne quote of his: “Reality in movies is the reality of the story you’re telling.

Story brings value telling to it.” He

treasured Farley’s. Harry de Leyer was a Dutch im-

migrant who rescued a horse he called Snowman, paying $80.00 for him. On his small Long Island farm, he taught Snowman “how to fl y.” Elizabeth Betts, a fi ne writ- er, and an expert horsewoman,

It may not match the reality as we know it, but the reason there is art is that it tries to bring some kind of understanding of all the suff ering that we

and joys and pain go through.

wrote “T e Eighty-Dollar Cham- pion: Snowman, T e Horse T at Inspired a Nation” telling how they won in the sport of show jumping. As the NY Times critic put it: “It is a story of unstoppable hope, inconceivable dreams, and the chance to have it all. T ey were the longest of all long- shots—and their win was the stuff of legend.” Can’t write about hors- es without a salute to the August 18, 1830 birthday of Emperor Franz Josef I, monarch of the Austro-Hun- garian Empire, oſt en famously

portrayed in his Hussar cavalry uniform. World travelers who have been to Vienna visit

the

Spanische Hofreitschule (T e Spanish Riding School) fi rst named during the Hapsburg Monarchy in 1572. T ey still perform today in the Fischer von Erlach designed white riding hall which is now open to the public to enjoy. Traditionally, the Lip- izzaner horses were trained and ridden wholly by men. But, in 2008, Sojouner Morrell, an 18 year old from the UK and Han- nah Zeitlhofer, age 21, an Aus- trian, were accepted as riders, the

... continued on page 18 ~ First Facts &#38; Trivia ~

The fi rst published book to use the term “UFO” was Donald E. Keyhoe’s 1953 book, Flying Saucers from Outer Space.

Between 1947 and 1969, 12,618 UFO sightings were reported to Project Blue Book, a UFO research agency that was headquar- tered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Today, 701 of those sightings remain “unidentifi ed.”

Over half of all UFO reports from the late 1950s through the 1960s were accounted for by manned reconnaissance fl ights (namely U-2) over the United States.

Carl Jung interpreted the phenomena of fl ying sau- cers, which often appear in the form of circular disks, as mandala symbols, refl ecting the human mind’s desire for stability in a confused world.

“The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.” Steve Maraboli